Sure, it seems intuitive when you think about it - but even in 2024 the business approach to mobile is still seriously lagging behind. With around 4.88 Billion smart devices currently being used worldwide - and only set to increase - can we really afford to think of mobile as a secondary access point to our offerings?
First off, it is worth noting that some products and services simply work best on desktop and probably don't need to fully functional on mobile - save a few viewing capabilities. SolidWorks, for example, has no business being a mobile app. And why would it be? It is catering to something that is highly complex and requires precision and access to a lot of perimeters and options.
That being said, so many other web interfaces have simply not catered for being used on mobile... and it's likely damaging your traffic and usability. Let's look at some stats around mobile devices to give us an idea of just how important it is to consider.
The global average daily time spent on smartphones is around 3 hours and 43 minutes. Some countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, have much higher averages—like the Philippines, where daily usage reaches nearly 6 hours.
Almost universal smartphone adoption exists among younger adults aged 18-49, with 97% owning smartphones. Among adults 65 and older, the figure drops to 76%.
Email, photography, and internet browsing are the top activities (each at 83% of users), followed by navigation (73%) and online shopping (71%). These activities reflect how integrated smartphones have become in daily life, supporting both work and leisure.
15% of U.S. adults are “smartphone-only” internet users, meaning they rely solely on their phones without home broadband. This trend is particularly common among younger, lower-income, and less-educated populations.
The dominance of mobile internet use is well-established, with mobile devices accounting for nearly 60% of global web traffic. The shift has also influenced content creation, with mobile-first platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and mobile-responsive design becoming the norm.
"Okay Viv," I hear you mutter under your breath, "We get it - mobile is important, but where do I even begin? I've been doing desktop first for so long and you're giving me admin." Well, lemme tell you what - let's go through it and make some sense of the whole thing.
First off, you don't have to scrap your entire design or project - it just likely needs a little tweaking. When you think about it, you already know what works and what doesn't - because you use your mobile device every day. Think about the times when sites have caused you personal frustrations or joys.
Screens these days are massive - make sure that your user can reach all the vital buttons with one hand. Consider both left and right handed people. If you're placing buttons in the top corners - users may have a frown on their face when they have to stretch their thumbs across the screen while they are unable to use two hands.
Mobile gestures should be prioritised. This is no longer a click-based world, and the awesome haptic feedback of these considerations can make the interface a lot more intuitive. Things like swiping, tapping, pinching and two-finger tap should be used more readily as they make your experience easier to navigate and enjoy.
Reduce visual noise - minimise the amount of images and graphics needed for two reasons, one, it eats up the users data and they will again have a frowny face because you absolutely had to open up your site with a video or large format image. And two, a lot of users are there with a purpose - they want to find out information and they don't want to have to sift through endless imagery to get there (I'm talking to you, recipe sites). Also, image heavy sites take longer to load - and users willingness to wait becomes less as our attention spans become worse.
Prioritise the 'lean' experience. Say less. You don't need to axe all your precious work - but using a little 'progressive disclosure' can go a long way. Leading your user directly to the content they are looking for will likely bring them back to your site because they know they will not fight to find the information they need. Optimised content is also much, much better for your SEO ratings - and I know you want that sweet, sweet SEO.
Remember, users don't want to have to work hard to interact with your product, service or information. They expect it to work seamlessly, without it causing mental fatigue and what we can only call and already strained attention span. What users crave is for things to be easy, quick and relatively painless. So - for your next project, or even an existing one, consider approaching it again with the mobile user in mind first - it will more than likely make a huge difference to the overall accessibility of your site, as well as increase the eternally precious traffic.
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